As she finally stepped out of the shower, her fingers pruned, she felt her nipples stand at attention, the cold air hitting them like ice. Her body had never gone so long without that much needed release. Unlike others in her previous profession, she genuinely enjoyed the sexual games she played with others, the rush she felt when using her mouth and her tongue to submit someone into pleasure...the level of control she felt when pinning someone down and having her way with them....the arousal that came with watching someone else squirm in ecstasy. She missed having that kind of hold over someone, almost as much as she missed being caressed and touched.
Ariane changed and headed to the local Target to pick up some items before her shift. Doing a quick check in the mirror, she approved of what she saw: simple, clean face, sprinkled with tiny moles across her pecan sandie skin, a spot of lip gloss on her heart shaped lips, her almond shaped eyes dotted by naturally long lashes, long-ish hair blow dried straight, pulled back into a ponytail, simple diamonds in her ears. Acceptable. She took down her shades from the compartment above her head, grabbed her keys, her purse, and her IPod, and trekked inside the Target. She headed into electronics, where a tower of Nintendo Wii boxes greeted her, the ads all pointing to the Wii Fit game, as well as other Wii games. As she reached up to grab a box, the boxes began to wiggle a little and some fell off the side. Startled, she stepped back, only for more boxes to tumble. A low and deep baritone voice from behind her touched her shoulder and, gently removing one headphone plug, said, “Why don’t you let me help you, before you hurt yourself”.
Ariane turned around and stared into the eyes of what had to be the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.
His attire was simple: white and black checked collared shirt, black chinos, a simple black loafer. The hand that lay on her shoulder was perfectly manicured and a smooth milk chocolate, as was the face that spoke to her. He had a low cut Caesar, the wave of his hair accentuated by the cut, and his keen brown eyes peered at her curiously behind square shaped designer frames. He smiled, and all she saw were crisp, white, perfectly shaped teeth. And a dimple.
Oh dear God, he had a dimple.
Trying not to get huffy, she straightened her back, and, gripping the cart tighter, she said, “Do you always take unsuspecting women’s head phones out?” He raised an eyebrow and peered back at her. “I do when they’re seconds away from destroying my store’s display and they can’t hear me when I’m warning them”. He smiled again. “I tried to catch your attention. You had the music blasting. Great song choice, by the way…I always liked Dirty Diana”. Ariane smirked. “This…is your store. If it is, you should tell your employees to fix the display right.” She drew herself up to her full 5 foot 7 height and waited for the retort. She’d heard it all from the men who tried to talk to her. This was sure to be a good one. One of the Target employees walked by, texting on the phone, seemingly oblivious. The gentleman stopped him with a gentle hand on the shoulder. “Excuse me, Samuel. I know you’re on break and all, but you should be texting in the break room, not on the floor. Can you fix this display for me immediately?” The employee peered at him; frowning, a retort ready, before his face dawned in recognition. “Right away, Mr. Grant. Sorry about that”. The employee put his phone away and got to work fixing the fallen boxes. Mr. Grant turned back to Ariane. “Target offers you their apologies”.
Ariane was stunned silent.
.
Mr. Grant chuckled and extended a hand. “Darren Grant. Senior Buyer, Northeast Region. I oversee this Target’s buying as well as most of the Targets in this region”. Ariane’s mouth dropped open slightly, then she shook her head as if to clear it and gingerly took his hand. Shaking it, she said, “Ariane Ryan. Not usually caught with her foot so deep in her mouth.” Darren laughed; a hearty laugh. “Well Ariane Foot-In-Mouth (wow, that was corny), I’m going to safely grab a Wii and place it in your cart for you, ok? Are you looking for any games in particular?” Ariane snapped out of the daze she found herself in. Shaking her head again, she said, “Wii Fit? Heard a lot about it.” Darren chuckled as he reached for the Wii Fit game from next to the display. Tossing it into the cart as well, he said, “Here it is. Although, I can think of a much better workout for you.” Ariane frowned. Here we go. “And that would be?” “Pole dancing. I hear it’s much more strenuous than most people think. Here’s a card for it.” Reaching into his pants pocket, he handed her a brightly colored postcard with information on pole dancing classes. Ariane rolled her eyes. “Pole dancing. Of course. Thanks, Darren.” She rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving Darren quietly assessing her in her wake. She paid for her Wii, along with a few other items she picked up on her way to the register. Flipping the card Darren gave her over in her hand, she chuckled to herself. “Just when I thought I had met a nice one,” she muttered to herself. Then again, she was a former stripper. Sort of hard to avoid...right? Putting her shades back on and turning her Ipod off, she head back out to her car in the sunshine.
***
It surprised her how packed the pole dancing class was when Ariane walked into the dance studio some hours later, after much internal debate and examining the card Darren had given her earlier. Sure, she was annoyed at the suggestion, but there wasn’t any reason she couldn’t check it out, right? She figured it would be fun to mess around on the pole again. Even though it was a far cry from her formal dance training, it was always fun. The instructor walked each participant through the various moves and when it was Ariane’s turn, she tuned everyone else out, channeled the Trey Songz song playing, and followed the instructor’s directions as she had perceived them. When she finished, she looked around and realized everyone was staring at her, including Darren, who was leaning against the doorjamb at the far end of the room. Her classmates burst into applause, including the instructor, but all Ariane could focus on was Darren’s stare at her from across the room.
Oh Lord. What was he doing here?
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